April highlights Public Health, Alcohol & Drug Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness |
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The month of April has many themes ranging from Public Health and what that means for American Indian and Alaska Native social determinants of health to identifying and to disseminating interventions that are culturally relevant to native communities through partnerships. In this month’s issue, you will find curricula, tools and resources for your classroom or to share with native youth.
And, don’t forget, April 22nd is Earth Day so get your youth out to “Love Our Mother” with some community service event activities! Here is a useful Restore Our Earth toolkit for your planning.
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Curricula Highlight: BRAVE |
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A flexible Lesson Plan is now available to support your use of BRAVE - either in person or virtually. The multi-media program was designed for American Indian and Alaska Native teens and young adults to teach suicide warning signs, prepare youth to initiate difficult conversations with peers and trusted adults, encourage youth to access mental health resources (i.e. tribal clinics, chat lines), and connect youth to trusted adults.
The BRAVE Lesson Plan was designed to be used in one of three ways:
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Option 1: Self-Reflection Activity + Youth Sign-up to Receive the video and Text Message Series (total activity time = 10-30 min)
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Option 2: Facilitator shows the full-length video beginning to end, followed by a 35-minute individual activity and discussion (45 min)
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Option 3: Facilitator shows one of the 7 episodes of the BRAVE video, followed by a 30-minute group activity (45 minutes, 7 lessons)
In a national study last year, BRAVE participants reported improvements in mental health, reductions in alcohol & drug misuse, improvements in resilience and coping skills, and better self-esteem – even as it was delivered in the midst of the COVID pandemic.
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Public Health and AI/AN Youth |
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There are 12 Tribal Epidemiology Centers (TEC) in the United States with a mission to improve the health status of American Indians and Alaska Natives by identification and understanding of health risks and inequities, strengthening public health capacity, and assisting in disease prevention and control. Click here to find your regional TEC and make a connection!
To highlight Public Health this month, click below and read the latest scientific journal publications as it relates to Healthy Native Youth and various cultural based interventions for native youth and young adults. Stay tuned to HNY e-News as more publications are in progress you won’t want to miss.
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Alaska Native News & Resources |
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Culture is Prevention – March HNY Community of Practice
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Special thanks to our Alaska presenters who shared about the importance of culture as a protective factor and ways to incorporate culture into existing youth programming during the March Healthy Native Youth Community of Practice.
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AK ID ECHO: HCV, HIV, PrEP, STIs |
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The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) is hosting a new ECHO! The AK ID ECHO aims to share knowledge about prevention strategies, screening, diagnosing, treatment and management of hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Each session begins with a didactic presented by a subject matter expert and will also include one or more case presentation(s) by a provider to the ECHO team of hepatologists, ID specialists, behavioral specialists, and pharmacists who can provide holistic treatment input. Health care providers in Alaska and across Indian Country are welcome to join.
This project supported by a grant from the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board and funding is provided from the HHS Secretary’s Minority HIV/AIDS Fund.
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Held the 2nd Tuesday of each month from 12-1PM AKST via Zoom - Click here to register.
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For more information or to view past didactic presentations visit click here.
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Free opioid overdose response kits available in Alaska! |
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ANTHC is partnering with Project HOPE to provide naloxone (Narcan®), a medicine which can quickly revers an opioid overdose. The Narcan® Kit is available to Alaskans for free via the youth-resource website, iknowmine.org. The kits feature gloves, a CPR rescue mask, 2 doses of Narcan®, a fentanyl test strip, and educational information. Text ‘RESCUE’ to 97779 when Narcan® is administered in Alaska to help provide fast, easy, non-identifiable, and important information about the kit use in Alaska.
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March Sobriety Awareness Month Videos |
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As part of March Sobriety Awareness month, ANTHC shared videos featuring five individuals who are living sober. Hear their stories of recovery, how culture has played a positive role in their lives and how they are thriving in sobriety. Click here for stories and useful resources.
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HNY Community of Practice 2021 |
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April 14: Supporting Youth Identity: We R Native!
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Coming in May - Circles of Support:
Create a Q & A Service like “Ask Auntie/Ask Uncle”
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The most popular section of the We R Native website – over 50% of website hits -- is “Ask Auntie/Ask Uncle” Q & A chat service. Join the team behind this popular, innovative native youth multimedia intervention who will share the secret sauce so you can create your local circle of support service.
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Sexual Assault Awareness Month |
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Sexual Assault Awareness Resources for the Classroom |
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The term sexual assault refers to sexual contact or behavior that occurs without explicit consent of the victim. We believe that those in our community can raise awareness and make a difficult topic that too many feel ashamed to discuss, something that can be discussed or talked about. Here are resources for your school and community health programs.
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Visual Resource: The Tribal Youth Delegates of the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board were asked what consent meant to them. Here are their responses in this 3 minute video – it is powerful!
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Social Media Post: We R Native “Ask Auntie” Blog Article on the topic of Sexual Assault
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Resource: StrongHearts Native Helpline (1-844-762-8483) is a 24/7 confidential and anonymous culturally-appropriate domestic, dating and sexual violence helpline for Native Americans. Check out the Identify Abuse tab to view educational articles and personal stories.
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Resource: RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-HOPE) in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country.
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10th Annual THRIVE Conference
Registration opens 1st week of April!
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The THRIVE suicide prevention project at the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board will host the 10th Annual THRIVE Youth Conference in a virtual format from June 21-25, 2021. Registration is free! For more information contact, Lael Tate at ltate@npaihb.org or visit the conference website here.
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When: June 21-25, 2021
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Who: For AI/AN youth 13-19 years old
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Where: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the THRIVE Conference will take place virtually.
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What: This conference is made up of 3 interactive workshops tracks and large group activities.
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Upcoming Conferences in April - NPAIHB Adolescent Health Team Presentations |
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Healthy Native Youth e-News – In Case You Missed It!
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Good stuff! Here are the links to past issues for February and March. Give us your feedback as we value your suggestions and comments! Fill out a Technical Assistance Feedback Form here.
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Funding Opportunity for WA State Tribes |
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The Washington Youth Sexual Health (WYSH) project is still accepting applications to fund up to 4-6 federally-recognized Washington State tribes to improve youth’s access to and experience with sexual health care.
The application is reviewed on a rolling basis on the last week of each month. The next due date is April 26, 2021.
The WYSH project will be hosting open office hours via Zoom on Tuesday's and Thursday's from 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (PST) to answer questions.
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Text Messaging Campaign Highlight |
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Educator Resource Tip of the Month:
Text 4 Sex Ed (an HIV/STI text message service)
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Looking for a teaching opportunity while your students are at home? Offer them this assignment: Text SEX to 97779.
In a recent evaluation of the Text 4 Sex Ed service, over 400 AI/AN youth from across the U.S. signed up to receive two text messages per week for 12 weeks. The study confirmed that text messages could be an effective channel to deliver sexual health information and improve condom use and HIV testing. A private, confidential and convenient way for teens to learn.
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